63d Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Report 
1st Session, j | No. 88. 


PUBLICITY OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. 


September 30, 1913.—Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. 


Mr. Rucker, from the ^Committee on flection of President, Vice 
President, and Representatives in\ Congress, submitted the 
following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany H. R. 8428.] 

The Committee on Election of President, Vice President, and 
Representatives in Congress, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 
8428) entitled ‘^A bill to codify, revise, and amend the laws relating 
to publicity of contributions and expenditures made for the purpose 
of influencing the nomination and election of candidates for the office 
of Representative and Senator in the Congress of the United States, 
limiting the amount of campaign expenses, and for other purposes, 
having had the same under consicleration, respectfully report the 
bill back to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. 

The fact that Federal law, requiring publicity of campaign con¬ 
tributions and expenditures, is now found in three statutes, enacted 
at different sessions of Congress, justifies a codification of these acts; 
the discovery of defects and imperfections iu the practical operation 
and iu the enforcement of some of its most important and vital 
provisions, and the adoption of the seventeenth amendment of the 
Constitution of the United States providiug for popular election of 
Senators, suggest the necessity for its revision and amendment. 

In presenting this bill your committee has attempted to keep 
well within the hmits to which Congress in its wisdom has decided 
to assert its authority over the election of Senators and Repre¬ 
sentatives. We have neither increased nor diminished the exercise 
of Federal power asserted in existing law, unless the amendment of 
section 5 of the law now in force which this bill proposes in the 
language following, the word '‘States,'’ on page 4, line 22, down to 
and including the word "therein,” on page 5, line 2, of the bill can 
be construed to be the assertion of a power not claimed in exist¬ 
ing law. 

The first seven sections of this bill have reference solely to "polit¬ 
ical committees,” as defined. The change proposed to existing law 
will be noticed by sections. 








PUBLICITY OF CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS.^^ 

Section 1. 


The only change in this section is the insertion of the words “or 
Senators,” in line 16. 

Section 2. 


This bill proposes to insert the word “payments,” in line 25, page 
2, and the words “or promised,” in line 3, page 3. No other changes. 

Section 3. 

This is a new section. Its purpose is to hmit the amount of money 
a “political committee” may use or expend for campaign purposes 
in any State to a sum not “in excess of or greater than the aggregate 
amount contributed * * * to such committee by actual resi¬ 

dents of such State,” with a proviso that this section “shall not be 
construed to hmit the amount which such political committee may 
expend” for campaign speakers and their expenses, printing and dis¬ 
tributing hterature, and the cost of newspaper advertisements, etc. 

No attempt is here made, nor in any part of this bill, to hmit the 
expenditure of money used in an effort to reach the judgment of 
electors. Appeal to the n^inds and judgment of men by political 
parties and candidates foi* political office is commendable and is 
encouraged by every section and provision of this bill. But the ob¬ 
jectionable and vicious practice, sometimes indulged in, of coUecting 
large campaign funds in the great money centers and carting them 
into other States to demoralize, corrupt, and debauch the electorate 
and thereby destroy the safety and purity of the ballot box is a crime 
against public morals which can not be too harshly denounced or too 
soon prohibited. If the enactment and enforcement of this section 
will cure this evil, it will have fully accomphshed its purpose and 
will meet the hearty approval of every voter whose vote can not be 
purchased with money. 

Section 4. 


This is section 3 in existing law unchanged. 

Section 5. 


This is section 4 in existing law. Beginning with the word ‘ ‘ which, ’ ’ 
in line 14, the rest of this section is new language. These words are 
added to old section 4 in order to make this section harmonize with 
section 3 of this bill. 

Section 6. 


This is section 5 of present law amended in line 21 so as to apply 
to election of Senators, and, beginning on line 22, so as to make it 
clear that political committees must file statements under oath 
showing the receipts and expenditures of such committee in connec¬ 
tion with a special election held to fill a vacancy and a general elec¬ 
tion “in any one State” for the election of candidates for Senator 
and Representatives, “if such committee shall attempt to influence 
the result of such election or in any manner participate therein,” 
and not otherwise. 


D. 

4 1913 


PUBLICITY OF CAMPAIGN CONTEIBUTION8. 


3 


If the principle of publicity is good and its application will accom- 
lish or even approach the accomplishment of that which is so 
devoutly to be wished/^ namely, the selection of men whose certifi¬ 
cates of election to high office shall represent the unbought judgment 
of voters, the preservation of public morals, and the sanctity of the 
ballot, then surely we should urgently demand publicity in those 
instances where the entire activities of great, powerful, and influ¬ 
ential ^‘political committees’’ are concentrated in one congressional 
district or in one State. 

Section 7. 

This is section 6 in the present law. This section proposes to 
amend existing law by inserting at various places the words ‘‘given” 
and “gift.” 

In paragraph “Third” the words “the aggregate amount contrib¬ 
uted * * * by citizens of each State,” and in paragraph ‘ ‘ Fourth ’’ 
the words after “thereof,” in line 22, to the end of the paragraph, 
are made necessary by reason of the provisions of section 3 of this bill. 

Section 8, 

This is section 7 in current law and is reproduced without change, 
except to insert the words “or Senators” in hne 17, and transposing 
some other language without changing the meaning or effect. 

Section 9. 

■■■ 

This is section 8 in existing law. In addition to transposing a few 
words, without changing their meaning, and omitting the word 
“indorsed,” this section amends the corresponding section of the law 
now in force by requiring candidates for Senator and Representative, 
in addition to filing their statements of campaign expenses with the 
Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House, to “dehver a 
duplicate of such statement to each of his opponents for such nomina¬ 
tion of election if such opponent and their addresses are known.” 
The purpose of this change is apparent; its wisdom will not be 
questioned. Publicity is the end sought. By this amendment to 
existing law it is sought to give “publicity” in the community most 
concerned and at a time when it will do the most good. Each 
candidate will be given a duplicate of the sworn statement of his 
adversary containing all the details of receipts and expenditures 
required by law, and will thus be in condition to scrutinize and con¬ 
demn the acts of his opponent, before the election, if it appears that 
either Federal or State law has been violated. 

Section 10. 

This section is one of the paragraphs of section 8 in existing law, 
as amended August 19, 1912, which, in the opinion of your committee, 
should be carried in a separate section. This section does not change 
the present law except to prescribe the manner in which the “dupli¬ 
cate^’ statement may be “delivered” to opponents, as required by 
section 9 herein. 


4 


PUBLICITY OF CAMPAIGN CONTEIBUTIONS. 


Sections 11 and 12. 

These are new sections. Section 11 requires that the statements 
which must be made and filed by candidates for Senator and Repre¬ 
sentative— 

before nomination and before election shall include the full name and post-office 
address, if known, of each opponent for nomination or election, as the case may be, 
together with the name or number of the Federal judicial district in which such 
opponent resides. 

If any candidate for nomination or election to the office of Senator 
or Representative “shall fail, neglect, or refuse to file any statement 
required by section 9 herein, this section makes it the official “ duty 
of the Clerk of the House or the Secretary of the Senate, as the case 
may be, within 30 days after such statement or statements should 
have been filed, to certify that fact to the district attorney of the 
United States’’ for the proper district. 

Section 12 requires the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of 
the Senate, “on or before the fifteenth day of January next after any 
general or special election,” to report to the House and Senate, 
respectively, the names * * * qH candidates for nomination 

or election who have “filecf statements, as required by this act,” 
* * * and the name and residence of each candidate, “whether 

nominated or elected or not, who has failed, neglected, or refused to 
file any or all of” such statements, and directs that the official reports 
herein required “shall be printed as a public document.” 

Section 13. 

This is a new section. It occurred to your committee that con¬ 
fusion might arise in the enforcement of this act over the question 
of jurisdiction, and to settle that question in advance this section 
was written into the bill. 

Section 14. 

This is section 9 in the present law. It is here reproduced as sec¬ 
tion 14, without change except to insert the words ^^or Senate” in 
line 15. . 

Section 15. 

This is section 10 in present law. 

Section 16. 

This is the last paragraph of section 8 in present law. It was 
thought advisable to make it a separate section. 

^Sections 17 and 18. 

These are now law. We suggest no change. 
















